A.Word.A.Day

A.Word.A.Day--hebetudinous

hebetudinous (heb-i-TOOD-n-uhs -TYOOD-) adjective

Dull or lethargic, especially relating to the mind.

[From Late Latin hebetudo (dullness), from Latin hebes (dull).]

"Examination of precedents led the judge to his conclusion, but he had
something to say first: 'It would be hebetudinous and obtuse to fail to
be cognizant of the adverse consequences of a ruling in this case."
James J. Kilpatrick; A Clown And a Blowhard on the Bench; Buffalo News; Apr 10, 1993.

"The audience waits in a kind of hebetudinous fixation, perhaps astonished
at the perfectly sustained level of mediocrity."
Kevin Kelly; 'Aspects of Love': Unlovable; The Boston Globe; Apr 27, 1990.

"I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know
how bad I am." Those candid words of Samuel Johnson, lexicographer
extraordinaire, provide a perceptive observation on the human condition.
A language is a mirror of its people. As a disinterested record of the
language, a dictionary serves as an accurate window to the culture. It's
not surprising that there are more words to describe people who fall on
the wrong side than on the good. In this week's AWAD we'll look at words
for people on both sides.

[Update: The quotation is from Joseph Baretti, not Johnson. See here.]

X-Bonus

There is one art, no more, no less: to do all things with artlessness.
-Piet Hein, poet and scientist (1905-1996)